MCX stake sale in final lap

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Mumbai, April 12: Financial Technologies (India) Ltd (FTIL), the Jignesh Shah promoted company, has received non-binding bids from nine top corporate entities for its 24 per cent stake in Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) and it will finalise the bidders by April 25.

The Forward Markets Commission (FMC) had asked FTIL to bring down its stake in MCX to 2 per cent (from 26 per cent) following the payment crisis at the National Spot Exchange Ltd.

In a statement to the bourses today, Financial Technologies said it was making all efforts to complete the proposed sale of its stake by April 25 and that a board meeting had been called on that day to finalise the bidders.

Financial Technologies had constituted a restructuring committee to oversee the stake sale plan. The panel met on Friday.

“The restructuring committee received non-binding bids from nine prospective investors, which includes marquee Indian and global conglomerates. The committee has completed the process of shortlisting the parties with whom FTIL’s appointed banker JM Financial will take the discussion forward,’’ it added.

The shortlisted bidders have sought an interaction with the MCX management and customary due diligence as a pre-condition to the proposed sale.

FTIL added that it would write to the MCX board seeking its cooperation while interacting with the shortlisted bidders so that the proposed sale is completed within the defined timelines.

The company will also write to the FMC for its support and cooperation in the matter.

FTIL will update FMC periodically on the progress made in the stake sale process, it added.

The Shah-led group as well as FTIL are grappling with multiple woes in the wake of the Rs 5,600-crore payment crisis at the group firm National Spot Exchange Ltd.

The FMC had ruled that FTIL and Shah were not “fit and proper” to hold more than 2 per cent stake in any commodity exchange. The order has been challenged in court.

MCX, in a separate filing made on Friday, said it had provided financial and other details sought by JM Financial to facilitate the stake sale in the bourse.

MCX has provided information about its income from operations, along with the break-up of other income and expenses.

It also provided details of the exchange’s fixed deposits with banks, its bank balance, investment and loans. This was in addition to details of foreign institutional holding and foreign direct investment in the exchange from April 4 this year.